Background

A developer watches his foreman park a bulldozer on a sand dune stretched a
hundred feet above the Great Lakes shoreline. He is planning to build a magnificent
3,000 square foot summer home for Mr. and Mrs. Jones. The house will overlook
the large expanse of blue water. The Jones live in Grosse Pointe, Michigan and
have told the developer how much they look forward to flying up to the island
for long weekends. The developer knows the Jones work very hard and this is
to be their summer home. The developer looks over the expanse of the water and
feels satisfied. He knows he is making a living, indeed a very good living,
and is building a fine home. His grandfather and father were both developers,
and by age eight he was following them around and learning the business. He
is proud to be a developer and to carry on his family's tradition. He's not
afraid to fight for what he thinks is right, and he believes there is nothing
better for America than increasing economic wealth of the nation by building
homes and commercial developments.

The developer watches as his foreman surveys the big patch of weeds they will
remove to make room for the red pines. The developer wants to plant the several
hundred red pines sitting there in burlap bags waiting for the decision by the
commissioners. He likes red pines because they grow quickly and are inexpensive
so he can plant many of them. He thinks the pines will look nice and protect
the house from the harsh winds blowing across the lake. Recently the developer
brought additional deer onto the island, careful to bring only males so as not
to increase their numbers. Besides, hunters prefer to shoot bucks. He and the
Joneses look forward to seeing the deer all summer and then Mr. Jones will hunt
them right in his backyard come November 15th. The developer feels great and
can't wait to meet with the Commissioners. He feels confident that they will
give him a variance so he can start building summer homes on this fabulous island.
He's already talked to Commissioners Bill and Joe at the athletic club and things
seem "greased."

An ecologist comes to the island and sees the bulldozer poised to cut into
the edge of the ancient sand dune. She is alarmed, shaken. She can see that
he will cut into one of the last two stretches of undisturbed sand dunes on
Michigan's Great Lakes islands. She can also see that the bulldozer will pull
up huge amounts of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) growing in dry fields
near the dune edge. She thinks about the milkweed which is food for bees, flies,
and monarch butterflies. These insects in turn cross-pollinate the milkweed
and keep it regenerating. She is alarmed because she fears that this year when
the monarchs arrive on the developer's island in May from Mexico, the milkweeds
will be gone. They will fly all over the island trying to find their food. They
will be weak from the long travel and vulnerable to death. They will have flown
over open water and been battered by the wind arriving in a weak condition.
This is the only summer home they have ever known, and won't last long without
the milkweeds.

The ecologist sees several hundred red pines sitting near the bulldozer. She
knows red pines aren't native to this island. They also don't provide shelter
to any of the creatures living on this island which have slowly adapted over
a ten-thousand year period to the deciduous trees of the coastal dunes. She
envisions hundreds of red pines with no life in them. Then the ecologist spots
an antlered white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginiana) and her heart sinks. She
has been on other islands that have been damaged by these magnificent creatures.
She knows that deer are not naturally found on Great Lakes islands because of
the difficulty of crossing ice and lack of suitable food once there. Most Great
Lake islands are just too small to maintain healthy deer populations. Without
natural predators, the deer herd grows too large in numbers and eats everything
in sight. If their own usual food source-twigs and leaves of aspen, nuts, yellow
water lily and acorns-is missing, deer will eat whatever vegetation is available,
often stripping bare the lower branches of trees and shrubs. Even in small numbers,
she has seen the damage caused by the pointed, sharp deer hooves that cut two
by three inch tracks deep into the earth, severing the vegetation. In a sand
dune environment, this can lead to severing key botanical connections for decades.
The ecologist sees things in the developers plans that she believes will destroy
some of the very things that drew the developer and the Jones to the island.
When she looks over the horizon, she sees an interconnected chain of life and
life processes that started for this island 14,000 years ago when the last glaciers
left this area. She hopes she can convince the Commissioners not to issue the
variance. She's never met them and hopes they are fair and will listen to the
island's story.

The Deliberation

The State Natural Resources Commission must decide whether to issue a variance
to the Sand Dune Protection Act, which prohibits building close to the edge
of dune areas. This particular island, which is 3 miles long and half a mile
wide, has a rare perched dune along the entire western coast, and the island
is also on the state list as the eighth most endangered island ecosystem out
of 600 state islands although there are no laws that address this aspect. The
north half of the island is owned by the state, and the south half by the developer.
Several dune plants are listed as endangered or threatened species. In addition
to permanent residents, the island is home for migratory species such as warblers
and the Monarch butterfly. The island contains a sandy area used by the public
for landing boats for picnics, deer hunting, or simply enjoying nature. A limited
number of deer hunting permits are issued by lottery each year by the Commission
to keep the deer population, which was introduced to the island in the 1960s,
in check. Hunters land by helicopter at a cost of several thousand dollars for
a wilderness hunting experience. There is one homestead on the island currently,
as well as an airstrip for small planes. In the past, the island has supported
a somewhat larger population of people engaged in farming, lumbering, or use
of the island as summer homes. The Commission previously denied a variance to
the Sand Dune Protection Act to a different developer who wanted to build several
hundred condominiums on the island. The previous developer then sold his island
property to the current developer. The nine commissioners are appointed by the
Governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate. In past votes, four
of the Commissioners have tended to take pro-development positions, while four
have tended to be more protectionist. Traditionally an all-male commission made
up of hunters and outdoor types, these eight men have now been joined by a new
member, a woman, who has not yet established a voting record.

Issue to be discussed: Should the developer be allowed to build the house?

Some other factors to consider:

He purchased the land on the South end of the island after the Sand Dune
Protection Act was in place.

Location of the house is important (because of the view).

Owners are going to use this as a seasonal home, and value the natural
setting and the closeness to nature.

The owner espouses a desire for "ecologically sound" development

The Developer employs a wildlife biologist who is a deer expert to assist
him in this.

He wants to use the land for deer hunting in November.

People will be hired to build and maintain the house.

The tax base for the applicable township will increase if the house is
built.

Air pollution, noise, energy consumption, and waste disposal will increase
by building, maintaining, and traveling to a new house.

Class Activity

Split the class into three groups: Developers, Protectionists and nine
Natural Resource Commissioners.

Stage One (Groups meet separately)Protectionists & Developers
have to identify the ethical basis for their respective positions, then develop
the best ethical arguments to present to the commission as well as anticipate
arguments from the other group, and develop responses.

Commissioners must identify the relevant ethical principles and responsibilities
as public officials to be used in making this decision. They should also consider
any potential conflicts of interest. Half should be instructed initially to
lean towards the development and half to lean against it.

Stage Two (Groups meet together as a whole in an open, public meeting):

Developers and Protectionists briefly present their cases to the Commissioners.

Then there is an open question-and-answer period led by the Commissioners.

The Commissioners leave the room to work to reach a consensus on whether or
not to grant the variance to the Act. They are instructed at this point to make
the best collective decision possible.

Finally, the Commissioners return and present their decision to the two groups.
They must explain what arguments and reasoning prevailed, and why.